8 Best Tube Amps For Heavy Metal (Based On Hands-On Experience)
Want a new guitar amp that’s suitable for heavy riffing, and high gain lead tones?
Or maybe you want an amp that can do a bit of everything, but has more gain than you’ll ever need?
If the answer is yes to either of those questions – you’re in the right place!
In this post, I’ll be reviewing a bunch of popular tube amps for playing heavy metal. I’ll share what I think about the amps, what they’re suitable for, and what other options are available.
And just to be clear – I wasn’t paid to write this, and none of these brands sent me the amps to review.
Note: The positions in this article are arbitrary. They don’t really matter. Depending on how you look at things, most of these amps could easily be ranked number 1. But it comes down to the tone you want, features you need, affordability, etc. It’s subjective. So, don’t ignore the ones further down this list. They’re great too.
1. EVH 5150
The EVH 5150 is one of the most popular metal amps ever.
If you’re looking for a flexible high gain tube amp, you can’t go wrong with the 5150. It’s been used on countless records.
The 5150 started out life in 1992 as a partnership between Eddie Van Halen and Peavey. The amp took a couple of years of prototyping. Eventually, EVH and Peavey parted ways. Later EVH partnered with Fender to launch his own brand.
While the original versions remain popular on the preowned market, the newer versions have been used by the likes of Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit, Joe Duplantier of Gojira, Scott Ian from Anthrax, Fredrik Thordendal of Meshuggah, and plenty more.
We’re now on version 3 and there are a bunch of different variations. The flagship 100 watt model is a 3 channel platform (clean, crunch, lead) powered by either 6L6 or EL34 power tubes. It’s a beast. Really flexible in terms of tone. There’s a 4 button footswitch you can use to control each channel and the FX loop.
There’s also a 50 watt version with 3 channels, some lunchbox heads with 2 channels, and some other variations in terms of colors, etc. You can also get the 5150 with either 6L6s (American voiced) or EL34s (British voiced).
There’s also the 80 watt Iconic series. They come with only 2 channels but they’re more affordable than the flagship models.
I like that there’s plenty of choice in the range. I went for the 50 watt EL34 model and I was not disappointed.
Where to buy
Pros
- Fantastic reliable high gain amps
- Available with either 6L6 or EL34 tubes
- Lunchbox head versions available
Cons
- Some may say that’s a bit too much gain on tap (could be a pro, I suppose!)
2. Orange Dual Terror
The Orange Dual Terror is a simple 30 watt lunchbox style head that can dish out some of the best high gain tones I’ve heard. It’s tight, punchy, and has plenty of gain on tap.
Inside, you essentially get two Tiny Terror amps in one box. So, you’ve got two footswitchable channels. One of the channels is modded so it offers more warmth and a touch of extra gain.
In terms of controls, this is as simple as it gets. Volume, tone, and gain for each channel.
Given that it’s a lunchbox amp, it’s pretty portable. Ideal for gigging at small clubs and capable of running a 2×12 or 4×12 cab should you have the need.
Where to buy
Pros
- Simple and easy to use
- Tight and punchy with plenty of gain
- Portable but still has a decent amount of power (30 watts)
- Power scaling down to 15 or 7 watts
Cons
- Not amazing for cleans
- No FX loop
- EQ section is limited (only a tone control per channel)
3. PRS MT15
The PRS MT15 is Mark Tremonti’s signature amp. It’s based on the PRS Archon, which I’ll mention later in this post.
If you dig Tremonti’s tone, you need to check out this amp. It’s a 15 watt 2-channel lunchbox head that can cover chimey cleans to balls out high gain tones.
15 watts though? It’s a seriously loud 15 watts. When I tried the MT15 it almost took my head off. Seriously. I’ve got quieter 40 watt amps.
But don’t worry if you need more. There’s also an MT100 version. As you’d expect, that version offers 100 watts and should be capable of pretty much any situation.
There’s also 5 gain stages before the master. I’m guessing that’s why it’s capable of such lush distortion.
What I particularly like about the MT15 is how flexible the tone controls are. Unlike a lot of 2-channel lunchbox heads, you get a full range of tone controls for each channel. Bass, middle, and treble. It’s a seriously nice touch.
There’s also a half power mode that takes it down to roughly 7 watts, and a push/pull boost on the clean channel.
If you also want an amp capable of pushed crunch tones, this isn’t it. Cleans and high gain tones are out of this world, but the inbetween tones aren’t there. Is that a deal breaker? Only you can decide.
Where to buy
Pros
- Exceptional modern metal tones
- Flexible controls
- Great clean tones with decent head room
Cons
- Amp is a little noisier than some others (you may need a noise gate)
- Not ideal for low/mid overdrive tones
4. Victory Kraken
The Victory Kraken is a unique take on the modern metal amp. It offers both British and American voiced channels that are independently switchable. Think JCM800 and 5150 in a compact box.
Both the crunch channel and lead channels sound great.
Victory is a British amp company. And they’ve got an incredible lineup of amps. The Kraken has proven to be extremely popular with metal guitarists.
The Kraken has been through several iterations. It started out life as a lunchbox head. Decent wattage, portable, and insanely good dirty tones. But no clean channel. This is the version I bought. Still, a fantastic amp.
Sometime later, the VX Super Kraken 100 watt version was released. This version had a bunch of extra features such as a clean channel. The original was 50 watts so this new version was a huge step up in terms of volume.
Afterwards, Victory brought out V2 of the lunchbox head which included a clean channel and some other extra tweaks. Unlike a lot of other guitar amps aimed at metal guitarists, the clean channel sounds great.
The clean channel was the only thing missing on the original IMO.
Now, there’s an entire suite of Kraken gear. There’s a guitar pedal, pre-amp pedal, amp pedal, lunchbox head, compact head, and a beasty 100 watt version. The compact head is the same as the lunchbox head, just with a wooden sleeve instead.
Overall, the concept of the Kraken is amazing and so are the tones it can dish out.
Where to buy
Pros
- American and British voiced gain channels
- Low and high power modes
- External bias jacks
- Series FX loop (in case you need to run reverb or time based effects)
- Compact and portable (lunchbox version)
- Gain balance control to offset the volume difference between the two channels (lunchbox version)
Cons
- Less affordable than some other guitar amplifiers
5. Orange Dark Terror
The Orange Dark Terror is the high gain version of the now discontinued Tiny Terror amp.
Quite honestly, I don’t know why they stopped making the Tiny Terror. It was a crazy popular amp. It literally launched the “lunchbox head” trend.
But it appeared that metal guitarists needed even more gain. They also needed an FX loop. So, that’s the deal with the Dark Terror.
It’s a single channel 15-watt lunchbox head that can be stepped down to 7 watts. Loads of gain available and the all important tube-buffered FX loop.
The controls are as simple as it gets. Well, sort of. There’s volume, shape, and gain controls. You’d probably be thinking shape means tone and you’d be right (sort of).
The shape control adjusts the midrange voicing. So, it cuts the mids whilst boosting the low and high-end. It’s similar to the TH30 head amp but with some tweaks to the shape control.
If you need a small portable amp, this is a good option. But if you need a second channel or a lot more headroom, this won’t be ideal.
Where to buy
Pros
- Great British voiced high gain tones
- Power scaling from 15 to 7 watts
- Tube-buffered effects loop
- Very portable
Cons
- Limited EQ controls (just a shape control)
- Single channel only
6. Orange OR Series
The Orange OR series is perfect for doom and sludge metal. It’s pretty much the classic amp tone for that sort of thing. So, if you doom, check out the OR series.
The OR series features a couple of amp heads. A 15 watt and a 30 watt version.
In addition to extra headroom, the 30 watt version is a lot more flexible. It’s got a bunch of extra controls so it’s a lot easier to dial in the metal tone you want.
Both variations of the OR are single channel amps. And both have FX loops.
The OR Series amps pack a lot of punch. They’re pretty loud amps but they both have power scaling. The OR15 goes down to about 7 watts. The power scaling on the OR30 is on the back of the amp but it goes down to a tiny 2 watts so it’s likely a better option for playing at home or in a bedroom. Hence why they call it “headroom to bedroom.”
The OR30 is a fair bit more expensive. Whether it’s worth the extra money for you, that’ll depend on your needs. It’s worth noting that the OR30 is made in the UK and the OR15 is built overseas. Hence the much lower price.
IMO, you can’t go wrong with either of these amps. And they’re quite accessible compared to some of the older amps that are typically associated with doom metal. But if you need a second channel, you may want to look at another amplifier.
Where to buy
Pros
- Classic doom metal tones
- Flexible controls (particularly on the OR30)
- FX loops on both models
- Power scaling on both models (OR30 goes down to a lower wattage, however.)
Cons
- Single channel only